Going Keto: The Struggle Is Real

In about three weeks, a year will have passed since I recommitted to a keto eating plan. I have reached some fantastic milestones in that time, but for several months now, I haven’t prioritized my health and my eating plan. That changes TODAY!

In May of 2017, I weighed 290.2 pounds. At the end of July in 2018, I saw a number on the scale that started with a two and a three — 238.8. When I stepped on the scale this morning though, I weighed 250.4 pounds, and I thought I had said goodbye to the 250s back in March.

So what happened? I can directly attribute my struggles to three things — lack of focus, an unwillingness to prioritize my health, and allowing myself to get comfortable. These are “me problems” that I control; I just have to decide when enough is enough!

Let’s take these struggles one at a time. First, let’s discuss my lack of focus. At the end of April, I went to a fantastic homesteading workshop in middle Tennessee. I prepared some items for barter that are not on my food plan, but I didn’t view that as a problem because I’d done that many times before without issue. When I went to Tennessee though, I started giving myself permission here and there to eat off plan, and I always had a good justification for my choices. “It’s easier to eat chicken nuggets in the car than burgers without buns, and it’ll just be while we’re on the road,”, or, “I can have a few caramels because I’m not eating bread.” The problem for me was though, without that pinpoint focus that said, “No, Sarah, it’s not worth it!”, things started getting sloppy.

Then, after my focus started to fade, I decided that a failure to prioritize my health was OK because I’d come so far already. I started telling myself things like, “I’ve proved I can do it. I’ve come so far, and I have plenty of time!” Once I started that internal dialog, it became even easier to procrastinate, and before I knew it, I had more off plan days than on plan days.

And that brings me to the last piece of the puzzle — being comfortable with where I was in my journey. Because I had lost focus and because I was giving myself permission to put off getting my poop in a group, it was easy to settle. “I’m still in the 240s. I haven’t given up entirely. It’ll be OK because I know what I need to do.” The thing is though, I was growing less physically comfortable while I had decided to be emotionally comfortable, and as I’ve said to so many folks, nobody can do it for me. If I want it, it’s up to me to choose.

When I recommitted to a ketogenic lifestyle last year, I said that this was the last time I was going to lose weight and gain health. Failing to focus, being complacent, and failing to prioritize could ruin that for me in short order though, and it’s up to me to accept responsibility for that and change it.

My hope is that I can inspire others to make positive changes in their lives even when they haven’t always gotten it right in the past. I’ve always been honest with folks because I believe that sharing the struggles are just as important as sharing the successes. A journey with no challenges isn’t realistic as far as I’m concerned, and if I can learn from mine, hopefully other folks can too.

In the end, remember that what we do matters, and if we’re not actively moving forward in our life journey, we’re being left behind by life. I know it sounds cliché, but these simple truths have really helped to guide me along the path to a better life for myself and the folks I care about.

2 Responses to Going Keto: The Struggle Is Real

I can empathize. I was doing keto on and off for 2 years before I committed this January. You are right it is a struggle sometimes you win the battle sometimes you do not. But the most important thing is to move forward learn and move forward. I wish you the best

My goal is to never stop learning, and I feel like there’s always something to be learned even through the struggles and failures. I promised myself that I’d never stop trying, but “trying” lets us off too easily, right? I guess I should promise myself that I’ll never stop “doing”, and that nuance is important, I think.

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